If you thought the jazz bunny forgot about you this year, have no fear: here are five bunny-/Easter-inspired jazz tunes to brighten your day.
1. Bunny Berigan makes "Solo Hop."
Bunny Berigan was a great trumpet player, but a lousy businessman. He bankrupted his own band, and he had a severe drinking problem; he drank himself to death. Jazz legends like Louis Armstrong touted the skills of Berigan, saying, "Bunny is just a fearsome trumpet player," according to one jazz blogger. Berigan played with some of the biggest names of the day, like Tommy Dorsey, Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett.
Here's a recording of Berigan playing on Glenn Miller's earliest recording, appropriately called "Solo Hop."
2. "Big Butter and Egg Man."
The jazz bunny goes all the way back to the hatching of jazz. Check out this hit song from King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band, the hottest band in Chicago, with Bessie Smith and Louis Armstrong as band members. "Big Butter and Egg Man" was the hit song of the day, a novelty number kind of like "Gangnam Style" is today.
3. Ella and Louis go on an egg hunt.
It's a sweet song about knowing a sure thing: you're in love and you're going to put your eggs in one basket. Millions just like you have done it. This is the perfect Easter jazz tune. You should play this tune from Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong for the love of your life.
4. Four big ears.
For those of you who love saxophone, the album Gerry Mulligan meets Johnny Hodges might be your best bet for Easter jazz. This album is a collection of songs from two of jazz's finest sax men, and the album contains two songs perfect for Easter: 1. "Bunny" (below) and 2. "18 Carrots for Rabbit."
5. Egg hunt.
Your last song from the jazz bunny is one that you'd have to hunt for. It's because this song from Herbie Hancock is buried deep in his album Empyrean Isles. You see, two of the biggest hits of Hancock's career came from this album: "Cantaloupe Island" and "One Finger Snap." The very last tune on the album was a 14-minute long free jazz piece. It was strictly for the diehard jazz lovers. But it's been included for you below.
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